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Coinbase loses Bison Trail co-founders: Sources

Quick Take

  • Bison Trails founders Joe Lallouz and Aaron Henshaw departed Coinbase.
  • The exchange originally paid more than $457 million in 2021 for the infrastructure company. 

The co-founders of Bison Trails left Coinbase today, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Joe Lallouz and Aaron Henshaw created Bison Trails to run infrastructure on multiple blockchains, enabling services like crypto staking. In 2021, Coinbase acquired the company to expand into infrastructure. Axios said the firm paid more than $457 million for Bison Trails. 

When Bison Trails joined Coinbase it was effectively rebranded to Coinbase Cloud. Lallouz was made head of Coinbase Cloud while Henshaw became head of engineering.

The pair are departing amid difficult times for the company and the crypto world overall. Bitcoin has rallied recently, but is still down more than 60% from its all time high in 2021. Earlier this month, Coinbase cut about 950 employees, 20% of staff, and reduced its operating expenses by 25%. In June, it cut 1,100 jobs, and another 60 in November. 

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On Jan. 20, Moody's downgraded Coinbase, though it said the company is stable, driven by its "currently healthy liquidity position that is absorbing the ongoing cash flow drain the firm is experiencing." Two days earlier, Coinbase had said it paused business in Japan and advised customers to withdraw their assets from the platform.

The stock recently hit an all-time low, though it hasn't stopped Cathie Wood from buying even more shares.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Christiana is a long-time journalist who has written about markets in the Americas, politicians who stashed cash in their underwear and high-end heels, to name just a few. She previously spent six years at Bloomberg, and her work has appeared in the WSJ, LA Times, Insider, Vogue Business and more. Christiana has a bachelor's degree in English from Pace University and a master's degree in journalism from New York University. She completed a master's degree in media psychology for fun.
Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].

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